Last week, an extratropical cyclone hit much of south-central Brazil, bringing with it cold temperatures and strong storms. The southern regions were most affected by the phenomenon, including tornadoes that devastated some cities in Paraná and Santa Catarina states. Most Brazilians now want to know when and where the next cyclone will hit.
fart big cityMeteorologists have detailed that it is possible to know about a cyclone’s passage days before it reaches a particular region, ruling out exactly how many cyclones may still be recorded in Brazil this year.
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In Maton, inland in São Paulo, a tree fell on the road, blocking a road.
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Civil defense teams work to cut down trees in Jambeiro
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Vinhedo, inland from São Paulo, was among the cities that recorded fallen trees.
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Cyclone destroys homes, downed trees and floods roads in South Carolina Cyclone destroys homes, falls trees and floods roads in South Carolina
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Cyclone destroyed homes, toppled trees and flooded roads in South Carolina
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Cyclone destroyed homes, toppled trees and flooded roads in South Carolina
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Cyclone destroyed homes, toppled trees and flooded roads in South Carolina
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South Carolina Department of Civil Defense releases images of damage
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A phenomenon that hit the area this Friday (7/11)
Santa Catarina Civil Defense/Information Disclosure
However, Wanderson Luis Silva, a professor and meteorologist at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), believes that other cyclones could form in Brazil this year. He explained that all extratropical cyclones are associated with cold fronts, and even in November, more fronts are expected to pass through the country until the end of the month. “We need daily monitoring to predict where these cyclones will go, whether they will approach or move away from the coast of Brazil,” Silva stressed.
According to the National Meteorological Institute (Inmet), a cyclone is a vast area of low pressure that can extend over hundreds or even thousands of kilometers. In the Southern Hemisphere, winds rotate clockwise toward the center of lowest pressure.
This movement concentrates hot, humid air, which rises and cools to form heavy clouds, resulting in widespread heavy rain and strong winds. Cyclones set weather conditions across the region for several days.
Antonio Marengo, a meteorologist at the National Natural Disaster Monitoring and Warning Center (Semaden), detailed that a cyclone has already formed and another is “invading”. He emphasizes that accurate predictions can be made several days before the phenomenon becomes reality. “It’s difficult to know exactly how many tropical cyclones affect us in a month,” he says.
Marengo explains that extratropical cyclones are common in the South Atlantic. “The problem arises when one of them strengthens and gets too close to the continent. This can cause strong winds, high winds, rain, hailstorms, and in some cases small vortices can be released from the low pressure center, which is the center of the cyclone, which can give rise to tornadoes,” the expert commented.
There are three types of cyclones. understand
- Temperate: Most common in Brazil, it forms in mid-latitudes between 30 and 60 degrees associated with cold fronts and has a cold core.
- tropical: The most powerful and destructive ones, known elsewhere as hurricanes or typhoons, form over warm oceans near the equator and have hot cores.
- Subtropical: A hybrid of the former two, it is commonly found on the coast of southeastern Brazil.
more powerful cyclone
Semaden meteorologist Marcelo Cerci points out that several scientific papers have concluded that cyclones are generally more powerful. The explanation for this fact is physical and directly related to climate change.
More powerful cyclones require higher moisture content. Selch elaborates that this humidity is guaranteed at the highest temperatures in the ocean and atmosphere.
“There is an additional source: a warm ocean and atmosphere that can store this moisture. So that’s the recipe. It’s one of the parameters, it doesn’t mean by itself that you’ll have a more powerful cyclone, but it’s one of the requirements for a more powerful cyclone,” he comments.
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